2012 Blue Jeans Week 31

We took one last summer trip last week before school starts next week!  We went to Nauvoo, Illinois which is a significant place in the history of our church--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It has a restored town from the 1830's and 1840's with people in costume and showing you how they lived then and what they did--blacksmith, bakery, brick making, candle making, etc.  In the summer they have an outside pageant in the evening, and they had a fun county fair before, and the great thing about it all--it is all free!  The kids had a blast, and it was a great time!

The kids sack racing at the fair.

Ben and Miss O going at it with the stick pull.

The kids getting ready to race with a handcart.

A scene from the end of the pageant--awesome!

Sis. Elaine Dalton who is the leader of the Young Women's organization for our church world wide was there, and the girls got to meet her.  She gave them a hug, and we got a picture.  She is awesome!

Getting a brick at the brickyard in Nauvoo

Nauvoo is located at a bend in the great Mississippi River, and the lily pad flowers were in bloom and amazing while we were there.  This is looking across the river.  

On our way back home we stopped in the big city overnight and spent a day shopping for school stuff--i.e. lots and lots of shoes :)  

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you all have a great week!

2012 Blue Jeans Week 30

And the countdown begins--2 weeks and 2 days until school starts, but who's counting? (um, me!)  We still have had unbelievable heat here.  It doesn't look like it is letting up anytime soon, and I so wish it would.  Miss A has started practice for high school cross country.  Miss O is busy working on smoothie recipes for her cookbook.  Miss E has a school music drumming circle camp this week, and Mr J is having fun commentating on the Olympics, "oh, that dive was just horrendous!" (exact quote from my 7 year old)  Too much fun!  Here are some shots from our week. . .

Sunday:  The past few weeks on Sunday evening we have enjoyed watching an episode of Anne of Green Gables.  What a classic, and having them in VHS is very classic (i.e. old).  I was worried our VCR wouldn't work to show them, but thankfully it did.  I may have to put these my Christmas list this year to get in DVD.  Good stuff.

Monday:  We got a fun care package from Ben's parents today.  Getting packages in the mail is always way fun!  Thank you Grandpa and Grandma!

Tuesday:  Miss E is getting glasses!  I suspected as much when she came home from school the last day and said, "Mom, I had a hard time seeing the board today."  The eye Dr confirmed my suspicions, and today she picked out these cute frames.  They will be ready to go by school time, and the good thing is she is excited about her glasses--yeah!  She looks cute in them.

Wednesday:  Hit Wal-mart today.  The school lists were out, and Mr J was very meticulously checking his list as we got all his school supplies. 

Thursday:  Today was my mom's 60th birthday.  All the family got together and compiled a list of "60 reasons why we love Nana!"  It wasn't hard to come up with that many, she is awesome!  Love you Mom!  Happy Birthday!

Friday:  My kids go through craft stages.  This summer they have been the friendship bracelets and then colored duck tape projects.  Miss O can make anything out of duck tape, and they have the coolest colors to make things in now.  Duck tape wallets have been her projects lately.  These are just a few she has made.

Saturday:  Every 3 months our family is in charge of cleaning our church building.  Today was our day.  Miss O and Mr J work hard on making the doors and windows nice and clean.  They are good workers.

Thanks for visiting and hope you all have a great week!!

Blue Jeans Week 31

Let it begin. . . school started this week.  I have very quiet days, but we have crazy busy evenings and weekends.  That is life right now, and I am grateful for it.  I love my life.  Hope the beginning of school goes well for all of you.

Sunday:  afternoon relaxing and listening to Dad read in the front yard. 

Monday:  The girls have been on a God's Eye making kick.  They decorated my kitchen light with their awesome creations. 

Tuesday:  Miss E relaxing and reading--enjoying one of her last days of summer.  I think she was too absorbed in her book Dealing with Dragons to notice the blanket had fallen on her head.  As long as it wasn't over her eyes so she couldnt' read, it didn't bother her :)

Wednesday:  Back to school party #1.  Miss O had her back to school party today. They had a relay race and this was their "school" work station where they had to quickly finish a math worksheet.  The girls had fun. 

Thursday:  First day of school for Miss O, Miss E, and Mr J.  Miss O has her bag of Kleenex ready to go.  Who would have thought that Kleenex was such an essential school supply :)

Friday:  Miss A has her first day of school. 

Saturday:  Our 2nd and final back to school party this week.  This was Miss A's party.  They had fun playing volleyball in the backyard.

Well, I am happy to have back to school parties over and school actually started so we can get back in to a "normal" (whatever that means) routine.  I am a schedule and routine person, and school lends itself to that.  Spelling tests, research papers, and math quizzes here we come!

It's beginning to look a lot like back to school time!

School starts in 10 days here. 10 short days. Where did the summer go? My 8-year-old wisely said, "Summer just seems to go faster and faster." This is true. As a kid, didn't you think summer was never ending? Then the older you got, the faster it went. I think life just goes that way. As a child you think you have forever to live, then the longer you live forever gets shorter and shorter.

So do you have images like these around your house now? New boxes of crayons, rulers, markers, notebooks, folders, and sharpie pens out to label everything??? Kleenex boxes in bags next to backpacks. (do your kids need Kleenex boxes for school supplies too? I had to have 9 boxes of Kleenex for my kids this year. Who would have thought that qualified as a "back to school" item? 9 boxes!!!)
And I have to kick myself for this one. 2 years ago my now 12 year old was going into 5th grade, which is the oldest grade in our elementary. Then middle school is 6th, 7th, and 8th. So, me being the wonderful mom I am (maybe short-sighted would be the better word) thought it would be fun to host a "back to school" party for her and all the future 5th grader girls. I thought it was a one time deal, but it has continued to haunt me every year since. Luckily another mom jumped on the bandwagon with me last year, so I have a cohort in the party planning for my 12 year old, but this year my 10 year old and newest going to be 5th grader played the "you did one for her" card. So, now I have 2 back-to-school parties. Ugh. So wish we luck with back-to school parties this week! I think I am looking forward to school starting.